A WAR veterans leader has defended the way Ellesmere Port's Remembrance Sunday ceremony was conducted.

The commemoration was the first to be held following the re-siting of the war memorial and after three key officials of the town's branch of the Royal British Legion were expelled following an internal inquiry.

New branch chairman Ted Roach, 86, accepts there were a 'few mistakes made' and other difficulties encountered at the event.

But he explained how he and fellow organiser Les Stuffin overcame all problems, and described any complaints as 'nit-picking'.

Main complaint about the ceremony came from veteran George Ford, who said: 'There was no organisation on the day, it was a shambles. People were there in one huge mass.

'Three or four people were sat near the memorial. It should have been clear for the wreath-layers and standard bearers. A military man not unreasonably asked them to move off the seats but he was verbally abused.

'And when they played the national anthem, I couldn't tell what tune it was at all.

'I was upset by these things and, speaking to a lot of elderly people afterwards, they, too, said it was a disgrace.'

Mr Ford also claimed the exhortation 'They Shall Grow Not Old' at the base of memorial had been incorrectly worded by the borough council following the re-siting and face-lifting of the cenotaph.

Mr Roach replied: 'There were bound to be a few difficulties because it was my first effort, but we were confronted by a great number of people who turned up on the day.

'Because of the crowd, dignitaries could not get to the war memorial. That's the fault of the local authority. They built a stone wall there and that's where people sat. They would not get up. Even the mayor couldn't get them to move, so we just left them there.

'Les, who is 87, and myself organised the day and we overcame everything. Perhaps there should have been a barrier there, but these things will all come right for next time.'

He added: 'There are two ways to say the exhortation. People complaining about things like this are just nit-picking.'